Drama 1 & 2

Learning Tasks for Monday, April 7

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the necessary elements of theatre.
-analyze the plot of a play.

1.  Writing into the Day

Is theatre important? Why or why not?

2. Reading
Together, we will read and discuss A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.

3. Homework

Finish reading A Doll's House and answer the following questions in your Word Doc:

Act III

1. Why is Kristine willing to “risk everything” for Krogstad?
2. Why does Kristine encourage Krogstad to let Torvald read the letter revealing Nora’s deception?
3. Dr. Rank suggests Nora should go to the next masquerade dressed as “Charmed Life,” and that she should dress “just as she looks every day.” What is the implication about Nora’s daily life? Is it charmed? Or is the charm a masquerade? Explain.
4. Discuss the irony in Torvald’s accusation that Nora has played with him “like a puppet.”
5. Helmer’s pronouncement that “before all else, (Nora is) a wife and mother” is contradicted by Nora’s “before all else, I’m a human being.” Is this issue significant today, or is it only a sign of Ibsen’s time? Explain.
6. Discuss Nora’s decision to leave her family. Is it truly the only way she can reclaim her identity and humanity?
7. The last sound the audience hears is the door slamming shut after Nora’s departure. Examine the theatrical, literary, and historical significance of this stage device.

Learning Tasks for Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the necessary elements of theatre.
-analyze the plot of a play.

1.  Writing into the Day
A Doll's House is full of references to puppets and playthings.  According to most critics, this theme is due to Ibsen's personal views on strict gender and social roles.  Do you think strict social roles are an issue in today's society?  Why or why not?

2. Quiz
You have 30 minutes to complete the Doll's House quiz in Blackboard.

3.  Discussion Board:  Task Two

Choose one of the following discussion questions to answer on the Task 2 discussion board. Your answer should be at least 100 words long. Respond thoughtfully to a classmate’s post.

1. Defend or support Torvald’s beliefs about moral corruption and heredity.
2. Is Nora’s decision to leave her husband and children acceptable? Explain.
3. When Nora submits to Torvald, telling him, “Whatever you do is always right,” Torvald replies, “Now my little lark’s talking like a human being.” But later, Nora says “Before all else, I’m a human being.” Compare and contrast Torvald’s and Nora’s definitions of “human being.”
4. Many Ibsen critics argue that A Doll’s House is not a feminist play, and is more about asserting self, regardless of gender. Yet Joan Templeton, in her afterword to the Signet Classics edition of Ibsen: Four Major Plays Volume I, disagrees, asserting that “Make (Nora) a man, and the play becomes not only ludicrous, but impossible.” What do you think? Is A Doll’s House a play about feminism or humanism? Explain.
5. At the end of the play, Nora slams the door to the “doll house” and walks away. Yet she leaves Torvald with hope for “the greatest miracle.” Why did Ibsen write an ambiguous ending? Cite evidence from Nora’s and Torvald’s closing speeches to indicate what you believe to be the ultimate ending to this drama.

4.  Discussion Board:  Task Three

In A Doll’s House, Nora is referred to by a number of nicknames such as, “little lark,” “squirrel,” “spendthrift,” and “sweet tooth.” Nora refers to her husband as “darling” and “dear.”


Brainstorm nicknames or pet names currently used when talking about men and women. Post at least five for each to the Task 3 discussion board.  Then write a second post noting any commonalities, trends or patterns you see after reading through your classmates’ posts. For instance, are the nicknames used for one gender more condescending than the other? Is one set more physically oriented? Is one more comparable to children? Or are both sets equal?

Learning Tasks for Thursday, April 10

Essential Question:  Are Shakespeare's plays still relevant?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the themes and plot elements of Hamlet.
-make connections between the play and context of Hamlet.

1. Writing into the Day
Bottom line:  Shakespeare's tragedies are about terrible, terrible things.  Think of a time when you first became aware of a dark or evil side in the world.  How has that experience shaped or changed you? 

2.  Reading #1
Together, we will read through and discuss the Lecture Notes posted in Blackboard.

3. Reading #2
Together, we will read through and discuss Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Remember- we are reading the summary version in Blackboard, not the entire play!

Learning Tasks for Friday, April 11

Essential Question:  Are Shakespeare's plays still relevant?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the themes and plot elements of Hamlet.
-rewrite Hamlet as a contemporary play.

1.  Writing into the Day
A tragic hero traditionally has a tragic flaw, some failing in his character that brings about his downfall.  What would you say your tragic flaw is?  It could be something serious OR silly (saaaay, an addition to pizza and Netflix). 

2. Reading
Together, we will read through and discuss Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Remember- we are reading the summary version in Blackboard, not the entire play!

3.  Assignment:  Rewriting Shakespeare
Choose one of the excerpts you have read from your textbook to paraphrase. You will paraphrase your chosen text into a contemporary script. In other words, you will rewrite the Shakespearean English into modern English. You should use the text annotation, a dictionary, and your summary to help you paraphrase the lines. Do not try to paraphrase in a word by word manner. Instead, look at the ideas that are conveyed, and try your best to get at the overall sense of the text.

Excerpts (choose just one):

• Act I, scene ii: Hamlet, the Queen, and the King, lines 64-160.
• Act I, scene ii: Horatio, Marcellus, Barnardo, and Hamlet, lines 165-255.
• Act I, scene iii: Laertes and Ophelia, lines 1-54.
• Act III, scene i: Hamlet and Ophelia, lines 56-161.
• Act IV, scene vii: Laertes, the messenger, and the King, lines 1-89.
• Act IV, scene vii: Laertes and the King, lines 75-195.
• Act V, scene i:  Hamlet, the Gravedigger, and Horatio, lines 61-201
• Act V, scene i: Hamlet, Laertes, the Doctor, the Queen, the King, and Horatio, ll. 207-343.